Only two current Blue Devils, senior Wanisha Smith and redshirt junior Chante Black, have played in the NCAA Tournament without the prestige and luxury of a No. 1 seed. Even then, Duke's two resident veterans lost in the regional final in 2005 as a No. 2 seed.
This year, Duke is in unchartered territory as a No. 3 seed, the first time since 2003 that it is not a No. 1 or No. 2.
For first-year head coach Joanne P. McCallie, though, the seeds will mean about as much as the regular season when the Blue Devils (23-9) open their NCAA Tournament against No. 14 Murray State (24-7) Sunday at 7 p.m. in College Park, Md.
"If you're a No. 1 seed, and I've been it once, I can say that's a blast," said McCallie, who guided 2005 No. 1 seed Michigan State to the title game. "But if you're not a No. 1 seed, at that point, you evaluate and take what you've got."
And what McCallie's got is a team riding high off its appearance in the ACC Tournament final, having beaten its first top-5 team since December when it knocked off Maryland in the semifinals.
What she's got is a different squad than she had in November and even at times in March, when it lost by 31 points at North Carolina. The team is flexible and able to play more styles now, McCallie said.
What she's got is a battle-tested group that took its lumps in the ACC regular season, finishing third and losing four times to the Tar Heels and Terrapins. The Blue Devils also played every No. 1 seed, finishing 1-6, but winning its last endeavor.
When Sunday's game tips at the Comcast Center, where Duke lost to Maryland 85-70 earlier this year, none of that matters. As much as the trials of this season will ultimately shape the Blue Devils, they now have the opportunity to create new triumphs.
"We want to win. It's a win-or-go-home thing, and each game we're going to play like it's our last," said Black, who redshirted last year when the top-seeded Blue Devils were stunned in the Sweet 16. "We're not even going to worry about the seeding right now. We're just going to focus on pulling out wins in each of those games."
Although Murray State has not played a schedule comparable to the caliber of Duke's, the Racers have two scorers in Ashley Ayes and Amber Guffey each averaging more than 18 points per game.
A potential monumental upset hasn't eluded the attention of McCallie, who has tried to safeguard her team.
"I don't know if it's because I'm Italian, female or what-I don't know-it's easy for me to focus," she said. "I don't care who we're playing because they're all good.... We're all in the Tournament, so for me it's so easy to take them as they come."
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